Kyle Busch Interview

Kyle Busch: Auto Interview

If you've ever flipped to NASCAR on the TV — or perhaps you're a seasoned NASCAR fan, with a fence-side lot for every race — it's rather hard not to notice the No. 18 car of Joe Gibbs Racing barreling down the straights and eating up the corners like it's nothing. Perhaps it's the glaringly obvious M&M'S characters plastered across the sides and hood (we'd like to point out the sexy green M&M on the right rear bumper, and we're not sure if we should be disturbed or turned on by our fascination with her), but more likely, the intense and downright passionate driving skills of No. 18's driver, Kyle Busch, are what caught your eye.

At just 24 years old, Kyle has managed to skyrocket his career in NASCAR and currently holds the record for most wins in a season split between the three series he races in (Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series). Even if you don't watch NASCAR (and we'd be a bit shocked if you didn't, really), you're sure to recognize Kyle Busch's name, if not his achievements. With a nickname like "Rowdy," it's clear that Kyle is a bit of a character, both on and off the track, and his antics have made him both a fan favorite and perhaps even a bit of a NASCAR villain. Either way, Kyle Busch is set to make it big on the track, and nothing is going to get in his way.

On May 2, 2009, Kyle Busch became only the second driver ever to win a race on his birthday when he came in first at the Crown Royal Presents the Russell Friedman 400 at Richmond International Raceway. With 15 wins, 78 top 10 finishes and 5 pole positions in the Sprint Cup Series, it's no wonder Kyle Busch is known as the NASCAR star.

We caught up with Kyle at Pocono Raceway (also known as the Tricky Triangle) in Pennsylvania to talk NASCAR, daily driving tips and who he really looks up to.

kyle busch on nascar

Was NASCAR something you always wanted to do?
Pretty much, yeah. I mean, when I was growing up, my family was always into racing. So, we’d always have the TV on on Sundays watching the Cup races or whatever, and ultimately I kinda thought about wanting to become a race car driver. I thought it would be cool to get paid to do what you love to do most.

What makes NASCAR so popular in the U.S.?
Well, I think the way it started [was] with guys who wanted to watch cars go fast, back in the '40s and '50s, '30s even, it was just about getting cars and trying to make ‘em go as fast as you can make ‘em go. And, ultimately, it came from the manufacturers — Ford, Dodge, Chevrolet — all those main manufacturers here; they’ve kind of built up the sport to where it is now, today. Americans always wanna see cars go fast and so it’s been a neat feel to have the sport transition so far to what it is today — they’re not street cars anymore, they’re built pretty safe for us to go out there and run the speeds that we now run. I think it’s mainly an American sport because it’s mainly American cars, or at least that’s how it was brought up.

Speaking of speeds, what kind of speeds do you reach on the track?
Kind of depends on what track you go to, but the top speed that we’ll reach throughout the year is probably here [Pocono, PA] — we probably go 208 [mph] down the straightaway.

The nickname "Rowdy" Busch pays homage to Rowdy Burns in the movie Days of Thunder — and also describes Kyle's energy on the track.

Which track is your favorite overall and why?
I love Lowe’s Motor Speedway, that’s in Charlotte — that’s my favorite track. I love going there. It’s fun. Before they repaved it, it used to be bumpy and rough and you’d slide around. You could really see a lot of action, and sparks would fly all the time, but it’s still a fun racetrack.

Are the crashes in NASCAR as horrible as they look?
Sometimes, yeah. I mean, not all the time. Sometimes you see somebody really hit hard and you’re like: “Man, that guy’s dead.” And five seconds later, he’s gettin’ out. It can sometimes look a lot heavier than what it is. Sometimes people see on TV somebody just barely backing in or barely hitting the wall or whatever and to be honest with you, that’s a really big hit. Unfortunately, Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s death didn’t look like that big a deal, cause we’d seen him wreck so much harder, but in turn it ended up taking his life. Sometimes, man, it looks really heavy and the guy’s OK — then, man, it looks really light but he’s really hurt.

How do you recover from a crash mentally and physically?
The biggest thing is just getting back into the car, getting back to the racetrack. The other thing is trying to put it out of your mind or thinking about what you did wrong, about how to not make it happen again. I’ve never been hurt — knock on wood — so I haven’t had to go through that, so I don’t know what to imagine if you got hurt in one.

Read on as Kyle Busch offers advice for the daily driver, and find out which driving law he wishes existed on the road today...